<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>I came here without a choice / I'm sorry I could never thank you by daisyveins</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27267523">I came here without a choice / I'm sorry I could never thank you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisyveins/pseuds/daisyveins'>daisyveins</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Chosen Hero, Fantasy, Found Family, Gen, Prophecy, Prophetic Visions, Royalty, TommyInnit centric, Wizards, hello demise server, hes just a littol boy, ominous fog, shitty off-brand final fantasy 9 setting, tubbo and tommy are. friends</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:26:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,984</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27267523</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisyveins/pseuds/daisyveins</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tommy is a hero foretold by prophecy. When his journey is revealed to him, and the force he was supposed to defeat approaches early, he is forced to find heroes before him to guide him. </p>
<p>Technoblade is a has-been warrior who freed thousands of people from oppressive regimes and won wars with only his cunning. Now he prefers to spend his immortality peacefully farming potatoes and ignoring the call of adventure. </p>
<p>Philza was an explorer who brought lost secrets, kingdoms, and people back into the world's knowledge. He was renowned as a brilliant man, who could defy death in pursuit of truth and glory. But one day he vanished, forgotten by the sands of time. </p>
<p>Wilbur was a man gifted by the fae, his powers used to satisfy his whims and tell fantastic stories. When the call pulled him, he wasn't one to ignore it. He used his trickery to outsmart foes magical and not, and always got the upper hand. But that's only a children's story now.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dave | Technoblade &amp; Toby Smith | Tubbo &amp; Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit &amp; Phil Watson, Dave | Technoblade &amp; TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo &amp; TommyInnit, TommyInnit &amp; Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Tommyinnit &amp; Wilbur Soot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>233</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Close your eyes and see</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Before. Before was nice. Before was before the pain, before the cold, before the blood and the fight and the dirt in his mouth and the ragged breathing. Before he'd seen it.</p>
<p>Tommy had been sitting there when it hit, he knew that. On a soft, overstuffed chair in the town's dusty old library, going through the yellowed scroll of titles he'd been provided while his closest friend, Tubbo, tried to find them on the shelf. </p>
<p>"Histories of Myth and Legend."<br/>Tubbo looked up and shook his head.<br/>"I've passed H. It's not here."<br/>Tommy dragged a hand down his face. It felt like every book Tubbo needed was gone. They had been here for hours, looking through row after row of rickety bookshelves that felt like they would crash down on him at any time. Every once in a while, Tubbo would perk up in hope that the book was there, only to sigh in disappointment when it was just a book with a similar title. Currently they were in the "Speculative Nonfiction" section, which Tommy thought was very stupid. Everything was speculative when there was MAGIC. But Tubbo seemed determined. </p>
<p>"Tubbo, Tubbo."<br/>"Yeah?"<br/>"Why do you even need the book? Won't Fundy be fine on his own?"<br/>"Tommy!" Tubbo gave him a sharp, exhausted look, which sparked Tommy to laugh. <br/>"It's not about the book. This is a big responsibility! If I do this, I'll be allowed to buy my own potion ingredients!"<br/>"Why'd he even give you this list if nothing's here?"<br/>"Responsibility." Was the flat response, which caused Tommy to giggle again. Seemingly exhausted, Tubbo collapsed into laughter as well. His was quieter than Tommy's barking, full-body cackle, but it was as heartfelt. Sometimes Tubbo would laugh at how loud Tommy's laughing was, and nothing else. That was what Tommy loved about their friendship. They could laugh at the stupidest things, or even nothing at all. It was nice. He should say something, keep the mood light.</p>
<p>It was in the middle of saying it- a crack about responsibility, or the difference between a history book and a potion- that it came. <br/>A sharp crack of light, and an even sharper wave of pain. <br/>And then there was nothing. </p>
<p>Tommy felt like he was floating there. And then his stomach catapulted into his throat, and he started to fall. But he didn't have a body to fall with. <br/>Despite how nonsensical and stupid this was, he eventually landed. He saw himself, in a red cloak, and some people he didn't know, laughing and talking as they walked down a grassy path, towards a dark forest. Something stuck out to Tommy as he viewed the group. Tubbo wasn't there. Even though he was too disoriented to know what was going on, he felt a pang of sadness. Despite the fact that he wanted to be a knight and Tubbo was on the path to be a Wizard, he'd always assumed they'd be together no matter what. He saw one of the people ruffle his hair, and then something snaked around his leg. And that dense, smoky something suddenly clouded his vision, pulling him away from that idyllic scene.</p>
<p>Instead, he saw himself again, his cloak tattered and his group gone as he held a sword in one hand, staring up at a dark cloud of the smoke that had enveloped watching-Tommy. Cloak-Tommy swore, the words whipped away in the wind before Watching-Tommy had the chance to identify the rage-filled statement. And then that smog enveloped him again. <br/>The prince was who he saw when it pulled away next, with the king entering the room. They exchanged pleasantries, the King commenting on his son's habit of wearing those "Strange Glasses". They both let out stiff laughs, and the King left. Tommy felt his stomach do a flip, every nerve in his body telling him something was very, very, very wrong. He had no idea what it was, though, until the prince looked around, saw no one was in the room, and removed the dark glasses that hid his eyes. And Tommy froze, as much as this non-corporeal him could. Because the prince's eyes were cloudy. They looked like marbles, if marbles shifted and moved and the clouds in them resembled the smoke that was currently setting off every bad news sensor he had. <br/>It was right when that connection clicked that the pain returned, and the white flashed across his vision. </p>
<p>When he opened his eyes- his real eyes, because he wasn't Watching-Tommy, he was Whole-And-Corporeal-Tommy- he couldn't see anything. It was all blurry colours and swimming shapes. With a groan and a curse, he closed them again. He could hear, though, and he recognized his best friend's voice. <br/>"Will he be okay?"<br/>Another voice replied. An accent he didn't recognize. He was too tired to try and identify it.<br/>"It'll take a bit. I would give him that..."<br/>Tommy's head swam, and he couldn't make out a few words. <br/>"Can you get that normal potion I made as an example? Healing, please."<br/>A "Got it!" and the sounds of light scuffle from who he assumed to be Tubbo followed that, and then he felt someone close to him. <br/>"Not all at once. It'll overwhelm him." <br/>Something cold fell into his mouth, which he realized was open. It tasted sweet, like berries and sugar and the cinnamon rolls he had eyed whenever he was training to be a proper squire at the palace. The pain subsided a little, and he gently opened his eyes. Tubbo, holding a bottle half-full of glimmering pink liquid, stood over him. <br/>"Ah, he looks alright. Not physically injured." The other voice said, and Tubbo relaxed visibly. <br/>Hands moved him so he was off of the cold, hard stone floor, and placed on a chair. He didn't even realize he had left the library. <br/>"Tubbo." The other person said, and as he stepped out, Tommy saw a floor length black cloak, and a large hat. The man's back was to him, so that was all he could make out. Was this Fundy? In his thoughts, which flowed like molasses, Tommy thought that it might be. <br/>"Yes?"<br/>"You were very brave. You saw him collapse, and you brought him to me instead of panicking. You were able to tell me what happened." <br/>"Thanks. He was heavy."<br/>As Tommy, exhausted, closed his eyes again, he laughed. Classic Tubbo.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Night Air</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tommy learns about what he saw.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Tommy opened his eyes again, the painful light of late afternoon had dissipated. It was cool in the room, and he noticed that someone had put a quilt over him. Tubbo, probably. It was such a warm and caring gesture that it couldn't have been anyone else. </p>
<p>As Tommy looked around, past the busy, bubbling Cauldrons and the stacks of books scattered on the floor, he groggily realized it was nighttime. He must have been out for hours. The room was cool, and a light breeze snaked in from one of the delicately-patterned windows, which was open just a crack.</p>
<p>Tommy stood up slowly. His head had stopped hurting as much, and a dull ache was all that remained. Wrapping the quilt around himself to keep the chill from getting under his skin, he took a proper look around the room. Things glowed and bubbled and made strange noises. <br/>Tommy had never cared much for wizards and their weird magic. It never really made sense to him, and magic smelled weird. But he was here now, he guessed. He'd have to deal with it. It was probably magic that gave him those weird visions in the first place. You never knew what an angry wizard would do, whether they'd hex your cows or give you weird visions and a shitty headache. </p>
<p>Speaking of wizards, Tommy was snapped out of his grumpy inner monologue by steps that definitely weren't Tubbo's. They were too heavy. And as he decided that this was Fundy walking, the man entered the room and proved him right. <br/>Tommy recognized him from the robes he wore, and the strange, paw-like look of his hands. Tommy, unsure what to say (he hated wizards but didn't want to disrespect one), just stood as still as a statue. The man assumed to be Fundy reached up and removed his huge hat, and Tommy gasped at what he saw. <br/>Fundy looked like a perfect mix of Human and Fox. Strangely humanoid, but the mix seemed to be seamless. <br/>Fundy didn't seem to notice. Instead, he took off the large robe to reveal normal clothes- wizards wore those?- and the fact that he was very, very small. Around twice the size of a normal fox, kept up by magic. And at that, Tommy couldn't be quiet anymore. He let out another laugh, loud and shaking his whole body. This guy that Tubbo almost revered, like a father figure, was that little fox man? He laughed so hard he ended up doubled over, trying to catch his breath in between peals of laughter.</p>
<p>Fundy cleared his throat, and with a wheeze, Tommy quieted his laughing. Was that insensitive? The room went eerily silent again.<br/>"I didn't think I was that entertaining." <br/>"Sorry. Sorry."<br/>Fundy smiled at him, and Tommy straightened up. <br/>"I mean, I've gotten weirder reactions. No- no hard feelings."<br/>Tommy awkwardly smiled back. <br/>"Tommy, I was sort of hoping you were awake. How are you feeling?" <br/>"I'm- well- uh. I'm fine? Feeling better. My head doesn't hurt as much."<br/>Fundy nodded at him. Tommy nodded back. <br/>"You can sit down again, if you want. I just want to ask you some questions."<br/>Tommy took a few steps back to the chair he had fallen asleep in. Usually, when an authority figure wanted to 'ask a few questions', that meant you had royally fucked up and were about to get in trouble for it. He didn't know what he'd done, though. Fundy took a book from a lower level of one of the bookshelves, and sat down on the floor. Opening it, he flipped through the pages until he found one about three-quarters of the way through. <br/>"What happened when you passed out?"<br/>That didn't sound like he was in trouble. Hesitantly, Tommy answered. <br/>"Well, it hurt a lot- I was in so much pain, and it was the worst, right? But then I saw some weird stuff, and it stopped hurting, and I woke up and I was here and it hurt again." Fundy made a noise, and flipped forwards a few pages.<br/>"Can you just tell me what you saw when you passed out? With all the detail you can, please."<br/>Tommy poured it all out, every detail he could remember, to a concerned looking Fundy. When he ran out of what he'd seen, he instinctively moved on to what he felt- the physical sensations, the fear, the emotions, and the nausea. How he'd felt so there, even when he didn't feel corporeal or like he existed in there. </p>
<p>Fundy sighed, once Tommy had talked so much he had no more to say and his jaw had begun to ache, and turned more pages. In the dark of the night and with this surrounding him, Tommy felt.... small. He'd rarely ever felt small before. Quietly, he curled up in the quilt. He'd never run out of things to say before, either. Everything had changed so suddenly. He and Tubbo had been spending time together. Tommy and Tubbo, just like always. Laughing and working hard, just like always. They were going to sneak into the Castle Stables, and feed the horses apples and sugar cubes. And now he was here, sitting in a chair while a strange little fox man flipped through a book. It was... scary, almost, how much his life had turned. He wanted to go back to town. </p>
<p>"Tommy."  <br/>His head perked up, and he looked down at Fundy. <br/>"I, uh, think there's something you need to know."<br/>"What is it?"<br/>Fundy took a deep, long breath, as Tommy's heart tried its best to leave his body via his throat. <br/>"You were born in Seed, right? Is that your star sign?" <br/>"Well, yeah."<br/>"I've got the right Tommy, then."<br/>The right Tommy? <br/>"You were born in Seed, seventeen years ago. Eighteen years ago, Tommy, your birth was prophesied. 'A boy born in the grain'- that means the Seed sign- 'with hair of gold and a soul of flame.' These- these things are very weirdly written. They don't even rhyme consistently or anything. 'Swords and iron, forged from his soul', I don't know what that part even means, 'To save the world from being swallowed whole. Flesh and blood, ashes and dust, iron and mirrors, flashes of rust.'"<br/>Tommy blinked, and realized Fundy was almost glowing as he read. After a moment, Fundy seemed to notice as well. <br/>"Of course, those are just a few excerpts. Any non-oracle who tries to read a prophecy can't handle the raw power. It's- it's deadly!"<br/>He realized he had been holding his breath. As Fundy stood up and began pacing the room, Tommy let it out. <br/>"So you see, Tommy, what happened to you was a prophetic vision. That happens sometimes, to, to heroes. Specifically prophesied ones. All of that stuff, with Prince Eret and you and that smoke, is going to happen at some point. But the thing is we don't know when."<br/>"So I'm... a hero?"<br/>"To-be."<br/>"Right. Uh."<br/>He furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what the hell that meant for him. Hero, right? Maybe when he was older, he'd be a knight who vanquished villains. That would be neat. But the smoke, and the group... his head had begun to hurt again from this stress.<br/>"There is something I should tell you, though."<br/>"Huh?" Tommy was still struggling to process what had just been revealed to him. A hero. Prophesy. How had nobody told him about this? <br/>"Well, when someone- when a hero gets a prophetic vision, it's.. it's typically a call to adventure. It means you have to start your journey. Get going, right? Like, you may not have to go and win all your battles right now, but you should at least find out what you need to do to get started."<br/>Tommy dragged his hands down his face. This was a lot of information to absorb, and he informed Fundy as such. Fundy nodded. Looking outside to try and process all of this, he noticed that the sun had begun to rise. </p>
<p>After what felt like an hour, Tommy had finally gotten everything into his head. The first thing he had to do, he decided, was try and find someone to make sure this was true. As much as he trusted Tubbo's judgement, sometimes talking fox wizards weren't exactly the most trustworthy. Speaking of Tubbo, he wanted to take them with him. </p>
<p>With a deep breath, he stepped over a now-sleeping Fundy, and began to descend the stairs to look for his closest friend.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>aaaaaa holy crow thank u for all the kind words on the first chapter??</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Down we go</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tommy thinks about things.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>With shaky legs and tired eyes, Tommy began his descent. The tower's stairs were curved and clung tightly to the wall, which Tommy was grateful for as he rested most of his weight upon it. His body felt heavy, as if the weight of his newfound knowledge had actually been placed upon him. Or maybe it was just because he was still tired. </p><p>As he went down, and the cool light of sunrise leaking through the windows faded, a soft, golden light spilled onto the stairs from an unknown source. When he took a step into it, Tommy felt warmed to his very core. Curious, he stepped a little faster, because every time that light hit him a little more he felt more and more at home. He could almost feel the fall leaves beneath his feet and the feeling of wind whipping through his hair as he ran through the fields. </p><p>... A library. That was where Tommy found himself when he reached the light's source. The stairs continued, yes, but he felt drawn to the room. The stone brick walls were invisible under what looked like a thousand bookshelves, and the sturdy stone floor had been covered in a soft, yellow rug. Blankets were piled on the floor, with books surrounding them. He could understand why Tubbo loved visiting this wizard's tower. The enchantment seemed to hum through the room, creating a cozy atmosphere. As Tommy looked around a little more, he noticed that the top of the room was covered in golden string, intricately weaved in several patterns. Glass orbs nestled into holes that looked like they were made for each other glowed and reflected each other's light. The effect was dazzling. Tommy realized he'd been holding his breath, and let it out in amazement. <br/>Well... maybe he could let Tubbo sleep a while longer. </p><p>The room had books everywhere, and the bookshelves seemed perfectly molded to the walls. Reaching out, Tommy grabbed one and yanked it from where it lay. <br/>'Warrior-King', read the title. <br/>Tommy had expected a room like this in a wizard's tower to have fancy spellbooks and forgotten lore, not a storybook. 'Everyone likes some light reading', something inside of him joked, and he snickered as quietly as he could. Admittedly, it was still pretty loud. He cracked open the book, and was greeted with familiar book-smell. This version seemed to be annotated by a few different people, and pretty heavily. <br/>He didn't mind it, really. Some of it seemed to be talking about different versions of events to the ones written in the book, some was conversations between the annotators, and others were simple doodles. He flipped to the table of contents, and found his favorite story- 'Festival'. It was really the origin story, and how the great warrior Technoblade began his famed crusade against unjust governments and protecting those who needed it. Tommy adored all of the stories, but later on there was some stuff with Fae and other heroes that got a little complicated. He always preferred the earlier stories. His eyes flicked over the page, reciting the story along with the book's rendition. </p><p>"And the Warrior loved his king; for the King had told him he was good. Good to the people and the world. The Warrior trusted his King, and his word; and was blind to the famine and pain his King had caused."<br/>"That day, the king held a festival to celebrate many things, his prosperity and the Warrior's strength in battle." <br/>Tommy flipped ahead to his favorite part. <br/>"The Warrior held in his hand a Gift from his king."<br/>"The King hissed to him to do it. But the Warrior did not believe that his King would do that to him. He heard, instead of the voice of the King, all the Kingdom telling him to shoot into the box."<br/>"When he opened the box, it was not a great enemy like his King had told him, but a boy. The Warrior took the dying boy in his arms, and his own world shattered around him." <br/>The rest of the story detailed how the Warrior- Technoblade, but the stories only referred to him as that after he repented for his blind trust- would go to rally with the people to take down the cruel and unjust king. After that, the next story, 'Trials', began. </p><p>He closed the book. He adored that story, because the first time he had read it, he had cried for days at the idea of accidentally harming someone. He and Tubbo had made a promise that if that ever happened, they would protect the other. The story now reminded him of the promise he and Tubbo had made, and how he would never blindly trust someone. <br/>Putting it back on the shelf, Tommy looked over the other books. The whole row seemed to be purely Storybooks. 'Explorations of Philza'. 'Trickster - A Collection of Wilbur Soot Stories'. Many, many more with their titles worn off or ones he'd never seen before. <br/>It almost overwhelmed him, so he turned around and went down the stairs again. </p><p>As that warm light left him and the cold faded in, Tommy pulled the quilt tighter around himself. Dull light emanated from the next room, and he hesitantly entered. </p><p>This room looked like a kitchen, with a woodstove and cabinets, some open and showing ingredients that glowed with dull enchantments. A cake was covered by an enchantment with swirling, glowing patterns. Tommy wondered what it did- maybe it stopped the cake from going stale? A few cauldrons stacked in the corner and some more... interesting ingredients caused Tommy to suspect this room may also be used for potion-making. </p><p>Something in the room stuck out, though. The source of the dull light, a candle, illuminated a hastily-made hammock, on which his best friend slept.<br/>Tubbo was covered by a thin blanket, and looked pretty cold. Instinctively, Tommy moved the quilt from his shoulders and tossed it onto Tubbo. Their eyes opened slowly, which was not Tommy's intention, but he grinned at Tubbo anyways. In a split second, Tubbo had gleefully launched himself out of the hammock to tackle Tommy in a hug. <br/>"Tommy! You're not dead!" <br/>"What? Why would I be?"<br/>"You looked very dead earlier, and I got worried!"<br/>Tommy sighed, holding back another laugh. He noticed that Tubbo was messing with his charm, which he always did when he was nervous. They both did, really. <br/>Back when Tommy had been apprenticed under a blacksmith, he had been trusted to make his own mold, and then been taught to make charms. That was how he and Tubbo had ended up with matching charms. They both had delicate swords made of steel. Tommy wore his around his neck under his clothes, on a smooth leather strip taken from an old horse bridle. Tubbo's was held on a small golden chain, which he had gotten from a vendor at the yearly fair. It had cost half of his pocket money, which was quite a big investment. <br/>"Tubbo, you are never going to believe what Fundy told me."<br/>"You met him?" Tubbo's eyes lit up. <br/>"Yeah!"<br/>"What did he say?" They patted the hammock next to them, and Tommy settled down next to them. <br/>"I'm glad you're sitting down, this is big news!"<br/>"Stop stalling!"<br/>With a chuckle, Tommy got to work catching Tubbo up on everything he could. From what he'd seen to Fundy telling him about being some sort of Chosen one. <br/>After he had quieted down, Tubbo made a noise somewhere between a chicken and a human gasp. <br/>"I knew I shouldn't have gone to sleep! I missed so much!"<br/>"I apparently missed it through my entire life."<br/>Tubbo stood up, the last shards of sleep apparently gone. <br/>"Well? Come on, we have to get going!"<br/>"What? Where?"<br/>"You said you wanted to check with someone else, right? We should get back to town and ask the captain of the guard! They'll know!" <br/>Tubbo was right- if anyone knew for sure, it would be the guard captain. The man had practically raised him, and had the knowledge and connections. Plus, they'd probably check any apprentices for prophecies and/or curses. Tommy stood up, and stretched. His pain was practically all gone now, and he was ready to take the next step.<br/>"Hey, Tommy!"<br/>"Yeah?"<br/>"Race you down the stairs!"<br/>Tommy grinned. Bad idea town, here they came.<br/>"Oh, you're on."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Sunrise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Conversations are had.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Soon, Tommy and Tubbo's racing came to a stop when they reached the bottom. They had breezed past a few more rooms on the way down, but Tommy had paid them no attention. Tubbo reached out to the heavy, wooden door, and undid the steel chain-lock. In moments, he had pushed it open, and Tommy felt the breeze on his face. The sun hadn't completely risen yet, and it was still dark out. There were still stars in the sky, which was beautiful hues of purple, orange, red, and blue. </p><p>It had been a strange night, and Tommy felt like this morning would be a welcome chance to calm down. <br/>"We're actually not very far from the city," Tubbo said, and Tommy realized that they had started walking without him. He did a half-jog to catch up, and Tubbo continued. "but the path is very twisty, so it takes a lot longer than you'd think!" <br/>"I've never seen the tower from the city before, though?" Tommy thought that there would at least be a glimpse of such a tall tower in the distance. <br/>Tubbo grinned. <br/>"That's the thing!" They grabbed Tommy by the wrist, and began to drag him along the path of cleared trees. After a moment, he began to run alongside Tubbo, and in fact outrunning him, until suddenly his best friend stopped in his tracks. Curious, Tommy turned around to look back at the tower. It still loomed over them, imposing in its size, with the only change being that they were further back. <br/>"Now, walk backwards!" Tubbo excitedly instructed him, and Tommy obliged. The first few steps he took were cautious, as he was worried about tripping onto his back. Soon enough, though, he was walking with large strides as normal, just backwards. As he did so, something strange happened. The tower seemed to fade out, becoming translucent, then transparent, before seemingly vanishing completely. <br/>"It's got an invisibility barrier!!" Tubbo clarified, and then added "It's kind of a big thing in Wizard groups." <br/>Tommy was slack-jawed for a moment at the sheer scale of the magic.<br/>"That is so COOL!!" He yelled, startling Tubbo and disturbing a nearby bird who was having an otherwise lovely day. <br/>"It's just gone!" He waved his arm into the fuzzy area, and was delighted by the fact that it didn't vanish at all. He picked up a rock and chucked it in, seeing that it was still there as well. With a look of absolute glee, Tommy glanced over at Tubbo.<br/>"Does it only affect the tower?" <br/>"Yeah! Did you know that there are hidden markers to keep people from getting lost? I can show you!" <br/>With their newfound interest in this enchantment and the surrounding area keeping both boys occupied, the stress of the prophecy and heroics and everything associated with it melted away from Tommy's mind, like an icicle in a fire. </p><p>The two of them looked around, finding the different markers and trying to come up with a marking system of their own, which ended up including a secret handshake, the names of several types of moss, and a rock. The markers along the path ended up being bushes of different colour flowers, which became warmer colours the closer you got to the tower. Their discussions held them through most of the journey, which took a little while. Tommy assumed there was a perfectly good reason for the twisting of the path, and it did provide him some time to relax. </p><p>The whole fact that he was now a chosen hero and destined to vanquish a terrible evil had completely left Tommy's mind as they approached the gate. The city wasn't walled by any means, but there was a proper entrance with a fancy stone gate and beautifully forged iron doors. Some people said it was the last remnant of a huge wall that had previously hidden the city, and some people just thought it was a nice way to have a proper entrance to the city. Tommy didn't particularly subscribe to either of these ideas, but he knew Tubbo adored the theory that it used to be a huge wall. Tommy supposed that it made sense, Manberg being the capital city and all. You would want something to protect it in wars. But there hadn't been any war in a long time. King Schlatt was very insistent upon peace. It was nice.</p><p>A cart came up ahead of them as their grassy path converged with the official stone one, and Tommy saw a mischievous-looking young man with curly, dark hair and a brown coat with its hood up at the front, with bales upon bales of hay in the back. The horses leading the cart were, frankly, beautiful, and Tommy really wanted to groom one of them. </p><p>It was warmer now, as morning settled in and the sky became a clear, cloudless blue. A beautiful day. The man on the cart rolled up to the gate before them, and began to talk to the gatekeeper. Tommy and Tubbo stepped onto the path to be let in behind the cart, and Tommy tuned out the conversation that the gatekeeper and the cart-driver were having. It really just sounded like idle chatter. <br/>"Hey, Tommy." <br/>"Yeah?" <br/>"We should figure out what to to after we talk to the Captain! I mean, this is really big, and you shouldn't just wander around lost!" <br/>"I'm not a kid, Tubbo!"<br/>"Well, you're not an old man either!"<br/>"Yeah I am!"<br/>"Go yell at some kids to get off of your lawn, then!"<br/>Tommy gave Tubbo a light shove, which they retaliated. <br/>"Seriously, though."<br/>Tommy sighed. No escaping newfound heroic destiny today, he guessed.<br/>"I'll find the oracle that gave me the prophecy, maybe? Then I could hear the full thing. It might help."<br/>Tubbo nodded solemnly. Ahead of them, the gate opened and the cart began to roll through, and Tommy began to follow it. He wouldn't have to go through the questioning, of course, because he was a regular on the entrance and exit. Indeed, the gate stayed open  after the cart was inside the city, and the two of them were about to cross through, when- <br/>"Wait!" <br/>He spun around, to see a familiar cloaked face running up the path, the large wizard hat seemingly left behind as Fundy rushed up to them. <br/>"There's something else you need to know."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ok this one is under my word goal :( <br/>sadly i have... not been in the best place recently (big anniversary of a traumatic event) but i promise that the chapters will get bigger, longer, and better soon!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hhdfbhjdbhjgdbdfbhjdfbjhdfbhjfbbjdfbgdf i hope i can finish this. hello demise server. hello bubbles. i did it i made the damn fic <br/>this is rlly just an exercise to practice descriptions and fantasy writing but i like mcyt so why not</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>